Alex Jones admits she was in constant fear for her life during 1200ft Sport Relief mountain climb

"Reaching the top was easily one of the most memorable moments of my life so far," host of The One Show revealed

'I only realised just how huge the challenge ahead was when I saw the sheer enormity of the rock'

Alex Jones has opened her heart over the “horrific” three-day climb
to the top of Utah’s 1200ft Moonlight Buttress mountain, admitting that she was in constant fear for her life.

The One Show host, who celebrated her 37th birthday during the challenge for Sport Relief, says she was “more panicked than I thought I could possibly be” as she embarked on her ascent.

Things didn’t improve as she felt “really out of my depth” only just managing to stay “on the right side of losing my mind”.

And that was before she learned just how difficult going to the toilet would be while remaining on a sheer cliff face for three days.

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror just hours after reaching the top, Alex said: “The thing I realised quickly was that for the entire time I was going to be up there, I was going to feel under threat. Like my life was in danger and that any lapse in concentration could be disastrous - which is an exhausting state to sustain for a few hours, let alone a few days.”

Prior to her three months of training for the event, Alex had never climbed before. Arriving in Utah’s Zion National Park, she found the sight of the Buttress “really traumatic”.

“I only realised just how huge the challenge ahead was when I saw the sheer enormity of the rock,” she confessed.

In the first hour of her climb, Alex felt as though she’d made a huge mistake in accepting the challenge. “At that point, all I wanted to do was get down. I felt exposed and way out of my comfort zone. It was only because of the brilliant people around me that I managed to get a grip of myself and make it to the first stop. To be honest, the rest of the first day wasn't really any less horrific.”

The problem was more mental than physical – she couldn’t stop thinking about the very real possibility of death. “The thing I realised quickly was that for the entire time I was going to be up there, I was going to feel under threat. Like my life was in danger and that any lapse in concentration could be disastrous - which is an exhausting state to sustain for a few hours, let alone a few days.”

At long last, she reached the portaledge for her first night of sleep – in a canvas contraption hanging off the vertical rock. Utterly exhausted she managed to sleep for around three hours, with her pro climber Andy Kirkpatrick sharing the suspended ledge alongside her.

Onwards and very much upwards!

“When I finally reached the canvas platform masquerading as a bed that I'd been dreading, it actually felt quite nice (I never thought I'd say that).” After a cup of tea, she was surprised when sleep engulfed her. “Sleeping on a suspended tent is weird enough but sharing it with your climbing instructor is bizarre,” she reports.

The second day of the climb was far more about physical exhaustion than fear. Alex, who was told before the challenge that her overall fitness was below average for her age, said: “I completed 1000 pull ups over a course of seven hours which would be gruelling for a buff mountain climber, let alone a weakling like me. It all but finished me off.

“I was pulling and pulling and pulling on the rope, desperate to ascend to the next stop where I could feel slightly less in fear of falling to my death, but I just seemed to be going nowhere. Ropes and clips hung from every inch of my waist and I was constantly getting in a tangle. Somehow, and who knows how, I managed make it home just before it got dark.

“We were behind schedule and it was a pain trying to get the portaledge up in the dark - everyone was at their wits end and exhausted. So, as you can image, dinner wasn't exactly relaxing. We ended up tucking into some soggy Pringles and bagels that were covered in old beanie weenie juice (a seriously unappetising tinned food).”

The weather was not on their side that night – the wind got up meaning that neither Alex nor Andy managed to sleep. She was terrified that there was a real risk of the portaledge coming away from the side of the rock. “After the nightmare that was putting the portaledge together, I think Andy thought it was going to collapse. He was a gentleman though and gave me his sleeping bag whilst he slept under his coat.”

The toilet problem also needed to be addressed early on. “We took it in turns to go to the loo and we had a proper little system too – we’d put some music on really loudly and then take it in turn to hide beneath a sleeping bag whilst the other one ‘did their stuff'. It sounds funny but it wasn't easy and at one point I put my hand in a bag that was carrying the remains of my birthday cake... and Andy's poo.”

'We took it in turns to go to the loo and we had a proper little system too'

As the third day dawned Alex was “shattered” after the exertions and the sleepless night. Despite knowing that the summit was in sight, she “lost the plot” just 100 feet away from the top. “Although the crew were there to talk me through it, ultimately it was up to me to solve whatever my issue was and keep on climbing. It required a lot of patience and I felt like my life was becoming one big saga of tangled rope and equipment - with some serious concentration thrown in for good measure. I didn’t at one point feel like I could switch off and when I was at my lowest point, I felt like the wall would keep demanding more. That was tough. Really tough,” she explains.

Finally the moment she never thought would come arrived – and she climbed onto horizontal ground as her co-host on The One Show, Matt Baker, whooped with delight live on TV.

Looking unsteady and dazed, she fumbled with her clips before rushing over to a tree, wrapping her arms around it and clinging on for dear life.

“Reaching the top was easily one of the most memorable moments of my life so far,” she says, happily. “Who knew that solid ground could feel so great? I was so excited I actually hugged a tree. I'm so relieved to have finished - and so grateful for all the donations that we've received.”

She said that taking part in Strictly Come Dancing, in which she came fifth in the 2011, was a “walk in the park” compared with her latest feat.

Alex’s gruelling climb raised an enormous £645,595 for Sport Relief.

The money will be largely spent helping families affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, a region which Alex visited last year to see the devastation herself.

Her entire challenge will be shown in a documentary on Sunday afternoon.